


Four Seasons in Tokyo

by graceimagining



Series: For You in Full Blue [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hatake Kakashi is a Good Teacher, M/M, POV Uzumaki Naruto, Slow Burn, knksummer, knksummer2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:28:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26023441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceimagining/pseuds/graceimagining
Summary: Naruto's been working all summer at Myoubokuzan Cafe in bustling, boisterous Shinjuku, the only place where the blond feels like life isn't endlessly boring, the same cycles over and over. With no intention to finish high school, a sudden encounter with an enigmatic--and kinda, admittedly handsome-- masked man with silver hair makes him suddenly change his mind.Alternatively, two strange and lonely outcasts start to shift and change with the seasons.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: For You in Full Blue [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845136
Comments: 13
Kudos: 56
Collections: KAKANARU SUMMER EVENTS





	1. summer: alleyway encounter

“The next stop is Shinjuku. Shinjuku. The doors on the right side will open. Please change here for the Chuo line, the Shonan-Shinjuku line, the Saikyo line, the Odakyu...”

Naruto sighed loudly, and groaned even louder in the hopes that someone would at least glare at him for making such a ruckus on the Yamanote line, but the train was packed with the first wave of the early morning rush hour, and in classic Tokyo fashion were more absorbed in appearing empty than even working themselves up to be pissed at him.

“Man, you all are so boring,” he whined. Still, no one acknowledged him. The salarymen were asleep in their seats or standing with blank expressions, bulky suitcases tucked close to their bodies. Some other high school students his age were listening to music or on their phones, enjoying their last bits of freedom before they went off to school or morning jobs. He made sure to leer at a particularly weird looking man who kept staring at a busty high school girl with long black hair, making sure to communicate his killing intent when the man made eye contact. He didn’t look at the girl again, and Naruto felt particularly proud of himself.

He filed out of the train into the chaos that was Shinjuku station, the endless crisscross of millions of humans, all up to

incredibly

boring

shit.

Naruto yawned widely as he exited the train station, his arms outstretched. He nearly hit a balding, middle-aged man in a frumpy suit as he did so and for the first time in a couple days he felt a little alive as the man glared at him and muttered, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Yawning. Good morning to you too, sir!” he chirped, and delightedly the man scowled at him even more before rushing off to wherever his stupid corporate job was. Naruto didn’t consider himself a particularly combative person usually, but August had been so unbearably hot and he was just _so bored_ of the tedium of his life.

It was the end of summer. The sun was just starting to stretch its light across the sky but there was still a sizable amount of grey left. Naruto checked his watch, pleasantly surprised with his early arrival today from his nondescript apartment near Uguisudani, in the northwestern part of Tokyo.

It was only a short walk out of the station to the cafe he had been working all summer. He hadn’t told the shopkeeper, Jiraiya, about his plans yet but the old man had also not mentioned anything about the school year having started three days ago despite the blond’s full day shifts. Even though the old man groused at him for one thing or another, Naruto knew gramps was a kindred spirit, with his extraordinarily long white hair and long streaks of red face paint he applied every day that extended from the bottom of his eyes to a point at the bottom of his face. It was like Jiraiya wanted to remind everyone he had been a pioneer of the Japanese rock scene, even though he had really only been a decent bassist for a short-lived band before all the big ones really blew up. Naruto rubbed that in only occasionally, opting to tease the man for his actual notoriety as the author of the trashy romance series, _Icha Icha_. Highbrow reviewers regularly panned his latest installments, but Naruto always had to smile and distract the fanclub of swooning middle-aged housewives before Jiraiya came in and tried to seduce them, so the blond took great delight in talking shit about the novels whenever he had a chance as revenge.

Naruto turned a corner onto one of the quieter streets in Shinjuku. There weren’t a lot of other storefronts, aside from a bookstore run by the Nara family, the flower shop run by the Yamanakas, and the Akimichi All You Can Eat & Drink Barbecue & Bar. It was considered a historic alleyway, as the three families had been living in that part of Shinjuku for generations now, and tourism in the alley fluctuated on both season and interest in historical aspects of the city. Naruto got along well with the children of each families, even though they had only met that summer, but he saw them infrequently—Shikamaru’s father had recently passed away so he had taken over actually managing the country-wide business, Ino had left that summer for an ikebana retreat out in Kyoto and had been busy with school since she returned, and Chouji was busy training for the weightlifting division in the Olympic Trials with his friend Rock Lee, although Naruto didn’t entirely believe that lean, scrawny kid with the bowl cut could qualify for any sport.

The ero-sennin was probably still sleeping at this hour on the third floor of the building in his apartment, but Naruto fished out his keys and unlocked the café door.

Even though he had been bristling on the train at all those annoying people who refused to acknowledge anything about the world, he really liked working at Myoubokuzan Bakery & Café and he didn’t mind the early morning hours when he had the whole place to himself. He could play his music as loud as he wanted, and do whatever he wanted as most customers didn’t arrive until forty minutes after opening. Naruto threw on his burnt orange apron with brown leather pockets over his graphic tee shirt and slim black joggers, and got to work tidying up the storefront.

“Ohayou, Naruto-kuuuun,” a voice called loudly from the back. “Can you bring these pain au chocolat and fruit sandos to the case please? I’m in a hurry!”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were here, Anko-san. I thought you’d just drop the pastries off in the back like usual.”

The woman winked at him as she stood in the doorway, pulling her vibrant purple hair into a ponytail. “You’re early, Naruto-kun. And I _am_ running a little late. All these food delivery services are throwing me off schedule.” 

Naruto sidestepped her and gathered the boxes of pastries into his arms.

“You think your mysterious handsome man will show up today?” she asked, and he nearly dropped everything, fumbling to rebalance himself.

“What the _hell_ , Anko?”

She giggled. “Oh I just love it when you drop the honorific, Naruto-kun, it makes me feel so young!” The woman pulled on her motorcyclist’s gloves, fingerless and black and picked up her helmet as she made her way to the back door. “You know who I mean, the man in the mask! I saw the way you practically _ogled_ the last time he walked by.”

Naruto knew he couldn’t hide his feverish blush, so he just turned away from her, busying himself with the arrangement of pastries. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just curious what he does for a living. He’s in this alley once a week picking up books from the Naras.”

“You haven’t asked?”

“I wouldn’t ask anyone but Shikamaru but he’s been gone for a couple weeks now handling things in the south.”

“Well,” she sighed, her light brown eyes leering at him as she said singsong, “you never know~! Mata ne, Naruto! Can’t be late for my next delivery!”

He waved at Anko as she ran out the back door and sighed. What a woman.

The two silver bells on the door jangled as Naruto was pouring fresh coffee beans into the coffee maker. “Irrashaimase!” he shouted instinctively. “We just opened a few minutes ago, so I can get you drip coffee but I’ll need a little more time if you’d like the espresso machine.”

A deep, pleasant voice responded. Despite himself, a quick thrill ran up the back of Naruto’s neck. “A short wait is okay. If I can get two lattes with oat milk, little foam, and uh, three drip coffees, please. And some pastries.”

“Yes sir! Would you like a tray with—” Naruto’s voice caught in his throat as he turned around to look at his customer.

It was the “mysterious handsome man” Anko had mentioned. He was a fairly tall individual of solid build, with jagged silver hair that seemed…natural? That or he spent hundreds of dollars in Harajuku for an excellent dye job, the way the silvery highlights shimmered in the morning light. But the man didn’t seem that old, maybe in his later thirties, at the oldest. He wore a black mask that covered the bottom of his face. While he wore a light blue button-down with black slacks, which wouldn’t necessarily distinguish him from any of the other salarymen who worked in Shinjuku, his tie was skinny and dark grey, and he had a similarly grey suit jacket draped over one of his arms. He looked slightly too casual but also neater than expected for someone to be working corporate. Naruto couldn’t remember the last time he saw a salaryman in a decent suit, and so he wasn’t quite sure what this man’s profession would be. When Naruto made direct contact with his dark eyes, he noticed a scar that split down his left eye. The man eye-smiled at him, and the café worker felt his heart skip.

“A tray would be helpful, thank you.”

Despite all convention—but true to his personal Uzumaki way—he decided to attempt conversation. Most people would clearly signal if they didn’t want to talk, but it never hurt to try. Tokyo people were so damn gloomy. He had poured the drip coffees and had turned his attention to the lattes. “Is it your turn to bring coffee for your bosses, _okakyu-sama_?”

The pleasant smile on the mans’ face didn’t leave, but rather changed to a sheepish expression. “More like it’s my turn to treat my subordinates. They’ve been working very hard under me.” 

“Well, I’ll do my best to help you express your sincere feelings to your subordinates then!” Naruto said as he warmed up the milk for the two lattes.

The slightly-less-mysterious customer chuckled. “Top rate service at this café. I may have to come by more.”

Naruto glowed. It was at this point that he noticed the book in the man’s hand. “Is that _Icha Icha Paradise_?”

Immediately the silver-haired man winced. “Maybe I shouldn’t have this out so blatantly, huh? I don’t usually expect most people to recognize it, unless you’re secretly a stay-at-home mom, Barista-kun.”

“Naruto. I’m Uzumaki Naruto,” he said, almost breathless. “A pleasure to meet you…”

“Hatake Kakashi.” The now-named Kakashi set his book on the counter as he pulled out a dark chrome cardholder to slide a business card and a few clean bills across to Naruto. The younger man traded him for the tray of coffee and the paper box of pastries, neatly tied up in twine.

Naruto bowed and picked up the card gingerly. “Professor?”

“Ah, yes. I’m teaching classes at the Polytechnic.” Things were clicking together now, as Tokyo Polytechnic was about a ten-minute walk from the alley. “Do you think it’s shameful a professor reads _Icha Icha_? I’m surprised a kid your age would know about it.”

Naruto’s blush returned at the word kid. Is that what he looked like? Was it ‘cause he hadn’t cut his hair all summer? “I’m 17!”

“And yet you’re not in school even though you should be in homeroom right now, Naruto-kun. You seem pretty hardworking and bright, but if you don’t see the value of an education, especially with only a year left, I can’t help but call you a kid.” The man’s voice was still pleasant but Naruto certainly felt the sting of being scolded. What did this stuffy professor even know? Jeez.

“What, the old man didn’t finish high school and he’s the author of that book in your hands and owns this café. He’s doing fine,” he grumbled.

Suddenly Kakashi’s disposition changed entirely. He leaned forward over the counter, his face right up in Naruto’s. The café worker could hardly breathe. “ _Icha Icha’s_ author? He owns this place?”

“Uh…yeah. He goes under whatever that pseudonym is but some fans tend to hunt him down with some research. He makes me delete mentions of him on the internet because he says he’s too old to learn himself, stupid ero-sennin—uh, Hatake-sensei? Would you mind taking your hand off of mine? It kinda hurts.”

Now it was Kakashi’s turn to blush. Kinda cute, Naruto thought, as the young professor pulled away and collected himself and his belongings. An idea, an incredibly stupid idea, came to the blond. “Hey. Hatake-sensei. I’ll trade you.”

Silver hair flopped to the side. “Trade?”

“He’s gonna be pretty busy with a national book tour soon for the next six months, but I’ll schedule a meeting with the old perv if you help me a little with school.” 

Why was he even proposing this? He _hated_ school. Sure, he had friends like Sakura and Kiba and Sai. Even though they had worried about Naruto’s very obvious trajectory to drop out of school, he out of all of them seemed best suited to enter the working world without a college degree. He liked working with his hands, making coffee or sandwiches for the customers, or covering Anko’s deliveries. School was boring and stupid, with its endless uniform rules and the way the teachers scolded you over every minor infraction. He only got along with the counselor, Iruka-sensei, but even he had given up in face of Naruto’s stubbornness to drop out of school and had transitioned to making sure the boy would be ready for the working world instead. He got into fights with the rich kids, like Uchiha Sasuke or Hyuuga Neji even though he got along just fine with Neji’s cousin Hinata. That teme Sasuke in particular made no effort to hide his disdain for the dead-last of the class, as Naruto was just a country bumpkin from the south who was too loud, too callous, and to stupid. So Naruto made a point to try and beat the shit out of him after school when he could as soon as the two of them stepped foot off-campus. He didn’t always win, but lately Sasuke had been near-rushing immediately to his private chauffeur, not wanting to snitch on the Uzumaki as if he were leaning on his status as heir to Uchiha Enterprises, nor did he want to keep dealing with bruises and scratches on the boy’s account. So dead-last Uzumaki Naruto considered it a victory on his own terms.

But despite all that, something about him desperately craved…something from this man in front of him. A little acknowledgment. A little more time. A little more of anything.

He didn’t even realize he had been holding his breath when Kakashi said, “Alright.”

“Wait, really?”

“You’re…an unpredictable one, Naruto-kun. I certainly didn’t expect my morning to go like this. But a meeting with my favorite author is hard to pass and you seem a bit more interesting than my stuck-up students at Polytechnic so…why not?”

Naruto beamed and pumped his fist in the air. “Thanks, Hatake-sensei!”

“Hatake-sensei makes me sound a little too old. I’m not ready for that. My students at the universities call me Kakashi.”

“Compromise then, Kakashi-sensei.”

Kakashi looked at him for a moment, holding him in some unknowable regard. “Alright, Naruto-kun. When will we meet again then?”

Naruto considered his schedule. “I work every day before and after school. Myoubokuzan closes at five. Can you come at closing? I can make dinner here for you, we usually have leftovers I just throw together before I go home.”

“Maa, you must be a terrible student, Naruto-kun, if I’m getting so much out of this tutoring.” Kakashi teased lightly.

“Well you’re a university professor! And uh…yeah I’m pretty bad. You’ve got your work cut out for you, sensei.”

“I look forward to it. Tuesday, then?”

Naruto couldn’t stop grinning long after the professor had left the coffeeshop. Suddenly this summer didn't seem so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading the first chapter of 'four seasons in tokyo,' my response to the Day 4 'modern' and Day 5 'high school' prompts for the KakaNaruKaka summer event :) I'm projecting this will probably be four or five chapters, to work with the theme of four seasons. Modern AUs are a bit challenging for me to write because I find it hard to hit the right character notes without their lived environment, but I hope our two heroes come through clearly enough in this.
> 
> Also, I really miss Japan and Tokyo, so I hope that love I have for that city shine through in the work.
> 
> See you next chapter and please let me know what you enjoyed in the comments!


	2. early autumn: run-ins and birthdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tutoring and autumn begins. Naruto ditches school and turns 17.

Everyone at school was dumbfounded to see Naruto trading in his casual, sporty street shoes for plain school shoes the next day, and when Neji scoffed at his appearance in homeroom, Naruto did his best to ignore the snickers from the Hyuuga and his cronies.

Iruka-sensei gave him a whole earful in the counseling office for missing three days of autumn term already, catastrophizing about Naruto’s potentially never being able to graduate ever and dying alone on the street, a miserable headline in the Tokyo papers, but he knew secretly deep down the tan man with a scar across his nose was just happy he was trying. Iruka had attempted the “let me share our similarities to motivate you” speech a number of times, and even though Naruto still thought school was pointless, and he rolled his eyes at Iruka’s attempts at motivational speech, he did appreciate the genuine sense of care. Between Iruka-sensei and Jiraiya, that care was the only sense of adult support Naruto had in Tokyo. And now Iruka was poring through his transcript, lamenting his bizarre grades, and sent him off to his next class weeping in his office.

As much as he was a bad student, he really didn’t want to come off a complete idiot in front of Kakashi-sensei their first meeting. So for the first time ever, Naruto really sat there in his classes, and _tried_. 

In the past, he had passed his classes through his tremendous powers of bullshit or annoying the teacher so much that they just did what they could to pass him through as quickly as possible. Now, he listened to their boring lectures. Even if he didn’t understand why someone was right, he at least noticed _who_ was right. Even though the teachers sniffed when they passed his desk and saw a series of complex and near unintelligible drawings, he really did attempt to make connections and make sense of the work.

But god, did it _suck_.

Sakura and Sai were pleasantly shocked by the sudden turnaround in Naruto’s behavior. They asked him what had happened as they ate lunch together on the school rooftop. “Just seemed like something I should finish properly, I guess,” he muttered. Sakura had squinted at him with suspicion, but also offered up her support. He yelped when she clapped a hand on his shoulder—that crazy pink-haired girl had near superhuman strength.

“You’re gonna break my collarbone!” he whined.

“Yes, do remember Naruto has a delicate, fragile composition, Haruno-san.” Sai said as he daintily sipped from his vending machine bottle of lemon tea.

“Shut up Sai!”

Tuesday couldn’t come soon enough. But the coffeeshop was busy on the weekends and Shikamaru had finally returned from his business trip, so they all had dinner together at Chouji’s restaurant. Naruto tried every night before bed to look through his homework, and attempted a fair number of assignments on his own, but it was just a lot to keep track of.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, Naruto practically flew out of the school building to rush for the subway station, nearly knocking over some classmates in the process.

“Sorry!” he yelled, but he knew he didn’t sound very sorry at all, the sheer delight in his voice unmistakable. He certainly knew his joy was infectious, as the customers all seemed to walk away blushing or in a daze, struck by his energy. He didn’t mind. He was going to see Kakashi-sensei today.

But five o’clock came around, and the professor was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was running late, Naruto thought, and took the time to clean up the coffeeshop. By 6:45, he was starting to get discouraged. Maybe that guy was just being overly polite. He could have just been honest, that stupid old man—

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and it creaked open to reveal a masked man smiling sheepishly.

“You’re late!” the words left him before he could help himself, but Naruto indeed was frustrated. “I was getting ready to go home!”

“Heh, apologies, Naruto-kun. I got lost on the road of life.”

“What the hell kind of reason is that?” Naruto grumbled, but he sat back down at the long rectangular table where the contents of his backpack were strewn about.

The man stepped into the shop, and draped his army green suit jacket and leather bag over a chair. He looked just as charming as he did the week before, in a navy-blue shirt and black slacks. Kakashi loosened his tie, deep red color with a geometric asanoha pattern, before running a hand through his hair.

 _He’s…kinda hot_ , Naruto thought to himself with a wince.

“What subjects are they starting you off with? Aren’t you a third year?”

The blond shook his out, snapping out of his ogling. “Uh, yeah. It’s all the usual stuff. Social studies is gonna kick my ass though.” He pushed his textbooks across the table. “We’re covering civics, economics, and political science through the winter and it’s so boring. Too many details,” he whined. His short stint at genuinely attempting school had actually helped him to relax for most subjects—he liked mathematics, where it felt like one thing was meant to just lead into another, and while ancient kanji was a pain in the ass, the rest of Japanese literature was kind of fun. His science teacher hated him but that didn’t stop him from performing lab experiments correctly—in the end, barring some small explosions. “Please tell me you teach social studies at Tokyo Polytechnic.”

The older man laughed, flipping through the books. “I suppose here is where I quit, then.”

“Seriously? What the hell? And here I thought maybe I’d actually pass high school…” Naruto dramatically crumpled into his hands. “I thought all professors were smart.”

Kakashi chucked even more. “If you worked with my colleagues, you certainly wouldn’t think that. Lucky for you though, Naruto, I graduated first in my class in senior high, so maybe not all hope is lost.”

Blue eyes picked back up and Naruto shot out of his chair. “Yes! Let’s do this!”

The silver-haired man shook his head. “Have I told you you’re all over the place?”

“Un!” Naruto nodded. “But you’re a pervy professor, so you’re weirder.”

“Hey now…”

“Anyway, let’s get started. What the hell is civics? Isn’t our government useless?”

“Well, I can’t disagree with you, but the trick to social studies is that you always want to see the greater systems at play. For example…”

Some hours passed like that, as they navigated Naruto’s tedious assignments, and the blond was captivated by Kakashi’s pleasant and easygoing teaching. If all his teachers were as interesting as Kakashi, maybe he would have done better in high school. The professor was clearly experienced, and Naruto learned that school was boring for him because everybody got caught up in pointless details. When Kakashi talked about the greater impact these topics had on society or people, Naruto couldn’t help but be invested. That laws made by people who seemed just a short walk away in the Metropolitan Building could have huge effects on Anko’s job stability, or his morning commute from one district city of Tokyo to another. Kakashi even was faintly impressed by Naruto’s bizarre notes, which took the blond by surprise.

“My teacher glared at me for not doing it the way everyone else does it, orderly and shit.”

“Your teacher’s missing out on the connections you’re making, Naruto. Not bad.”

Naruto couldn’t help but beam the whole time.

So late summer became autumn. Naruto still got bad marks at first. Kakashi had sighed deeply when Naruto pulled out his first assignments, low numbers affixed to the top of each one. Naruto had never really felt shame about them before, but now in front of a proper tutor who cared about him, he didn’t like those numbers associated with him in front of this man he wanted to do right by.

Kakashi had to teach him how to take a test, and Naruto didn’t even know that was something you had to learn. He learned how to breathe and focus on one question at a time, how to make memory patterns to help him chunk information, etc. He finally understood why Sakura came up with elaborate mnemonics for exams, or why Sai always rewrote his notes rigorously the days leading up to a major exam. He didn’t like those things and teachers were still perplexed why he refused to do school the way everyone else did. But slowly and surely, his marks started to improve.

School itself didn’t necessarily feel any better, but at least it wasn’t such an unbearable burden anymore. Even if his tedious teachers started to treat him like less of a pariah, deep down Naruto knew that nothing compared to that hour and a half with Kakashi-sensei every Tuesday evening.

It didn’t mean _all_ his habits changed, however.

It took six weeks and the first set of major exams before his constant wheedling finally convinced Sakura to skip school the Friday before his birthday, as a celebration. Sai didn’t have any issue with ditching classes at any point, but he said Naruto was too annoying to spend time one-on-one, it was more entertaining to see Sakura eventually punch Naruto when he became too much, and Sakura would ultimately be the one to sweet talk them out of trouble should anything go awry.

The trees in Tokyo were just starting to shift color but many were still a waning yellow-green. Sakura of course had set pretty much the entire day’s itinerary, but the boys didn’t mind since Naruto just wanted to be away from the oppressive classroom and Sai hardly ever cared for anything other than his very specific interests. The trio had a delightfully slow brunch at a hip new spot in Ikebukuro where Sai continued his search for the jiggliest, fluffiest pancakes in all of Tokyo. (This one was A-class, excellent buttery sweet flavor with a solid jiggle while maintaining its pancake shape, but not quite the S-class of the dessert café they had tried in Naka-meguro last spring. Sai had spent the week after that in a meditative silence, having transcended this meagre existence.)

“So. Again,” Sakura declared as she finished the last bit of millionaire’s bacon from her meal. Naruto remarked to himself that she looked very pretty and mature in her loose, off-the-shoulder sweater dress in a pale green that matched her eyes. Her trim legs were covered in dark green lace tights covered in a red rose pattern, and today she pulled her shoulder-length light pink hair into a loose bun. He rarely saw Sakura on the weekends since he had work and she spent the weekends at cram school, piano lessons, or otherwise preparing for college entrance exams somehow in her pursuit to become a doctor, so it was nice to see her looking comfortable outside of their Konoha High school uniform. “We’re going to the Kawaii Flea Market next—no groaning from either of you!—and that record store so Naruto can finally buy that vinyl he wants, and then midday karaoke in Ueno until Sai can’t sing another song…or we run out of money! And then Ichiraku Ramen to top it all off. Naruto, are you really drinking another cup of coffee? It’s a wonder you ever got tall.”

The blond shrugged after he nodded his gratitude at the server for his second cup. “What? They use a good espresso here. You know I never feel the caffeine and ‘sides I don’t drink coffee when I’m working, which is most days, you know.”

“He’s constantly revved up as it is,” Sai quipped. The pale-skinned artist opted for a thin black jacket over a black button down and black skinny jeans, his non-school uniform. Oftentimes he was approached by shy young girls in Harajuku who asked if he was part of a visual kei band, to which he always responded he had no interest in music or feminizing himself for the sake of young women, to which the girls always sighed, unable to hear his actual words over their infatuation.

“Shut up Sai.”

The flea market wasn’t as bad as Naruto thought it would be. Even though it was clearly middle-aged and older women and the occasional oddball with a clear penchant for hoarding, Naruto found himself enjoying the open-air market as people offered their wares. It wasn’t as cutesy as the name suggested, though that didn’t stop Sakura from squealing every few minutes at another thing that caught her eye. The air was cool and fresh and the sun was easy on their shoulders. Sai was immersed in a conversation with an old man about his calligraphy brushes, and the pale young man had pulled out his own portfolio of ink-brush paintings from his bag. Naruto stretched and sighed loudly, the taste of freedom clean on his tongue.

“Didn’t realize the weekend started early, Naruto.”

Chills ran up his spine as Naruto recognized that cool, pleasant voice. He turned around to face none other than Hatake Kakashi, his placid face somehow terrifying as he smiled too easily at Naruto.

“Are classes not in session today, Na-ru-to-kun?”

“Hey you’re ditching school too, _sensei!_ I can tell because you’re wearing work clothes!”

At that Kakashi looked down at his outfit and blinked. It was only another beat before that masked face completely transformed, and the smile on his face was much more comfortable. “Maa, I suppose you’ve caught me. I may have skipped my faculty meetings to find some…”

“You just skipped your meetings because you were bored,” Naruto accused again.

When Kakashi seemed to completely crumple in his charcoal colored twill coat, the young blond felt fully in his power, leering with delight. “Well, I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”

“Fair enough.”

“Narutooooo!! Look at these cool earrings I found!” Sakura bounded over and launched herself into her best friend’s face, dangling her new wares in front of him. It took her a moment to notice that he had still been looking past her at Kakashi, at which point she turned around. “Oh. Hi! I’m Haruno Sakura.” She bowed.

Kakashi returned the gesture. “Hatake Kakashi. Nice to meet you.”

“Do you know Naruto-kun?” Naruto wanted to blush, as he could hear the protective edge in her voice. “You’re not one of those guys always recruiting him into the host clubs, are you?”

“Oh?”

“Sakura-chan, serio—”

“Have I seen you around? Have we had words? You look familiar!” The pink haired young woman leaned forward and squinted at the professor, who was growing meeker by the second. If Naruto had thought he had any sway over the older man before, it was nothing compared to the power Sakura exuded over him now. Birds fled from nearby power lines.

“Sakura-chan! He’s my tutor! The one I see on Tuesdays!”

And just like that, the coolness of the autumn air returned. “Oh!” she exclaimed, smiling sweetly. “Why didn’t you just say so? Thank you for getting my friend back on track.”

At that, Kakashi and Naruto smiled shyly at the same time.

“Well, we’re hardly at the midpoint of your semester. We’ll see if he stays on track. He can barely stay on track for one tutoring session.”

“Hey!” Naruto cut in.

The pink-haired girl laughed. “Well all my bullying didn’t make a difference, so I think you’re doing okay. Please continue to take care of my friend!”

“I'll try my best. But I will leave you two be. Have a good day, Naruto-kun. Haruno-san.”

The two watched his back disappear into the crowd. When he was out of earshot, Sakura sighed loudly. “I like him,” she declared.

“Sure didn’t feel that way at first,” the blond grumbled. “And why’d you have to bring up the host clubs?” 

Her voice took on a singsong quality. “Oh, I’m just testing the waters.”

“For what?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just confirming things you’ve said. Or rather, how you’ve said them.”

“Huh? You’re weird, Sakura-chan.”

“Dumbass. Let’s go find Sai. Let’s buy you some records and then I want to spend the whole day singing!”

The three of them had a splendid day cutting classes, ordering snacks and singing loudly, awfully, in unison, in chaos, until they ran out of money and it was time to go home.

The Tuesday after was Naruto’s birthday. Sakura had tackled-hugged him in the morning and Sai provided glittery confetti for the occasion, as well as a broom and dustpan to clean up before Principal Sarutobi yelled at them. The day was uneventful otherwise, aside from a crew that included Hinata, Lee, and Kiba joining them at lunch to just eat together and make fun of their favorite screwball Naruto. In his corner of the classroom, Sasuke had huffed loudly but everyone ignored him. Other than that, it was a normal Tuesday for Naruto, which included work at the café and tutoring with Kakashi-sensei.

If he was being really honest with himself, he hadn’t wanted to ditch school the day of his birthday for reasons other than wanting a convenient three-day weekend prior. Sakura had made a strange ‘hmm’ when he told her he wasn’t going to cancel his tutoring session but said nothing further when he asked her why she made odd noises.

Kakashi came late as usual, but surprisingly earlier than the norm. They got straight to work on reviewing Naruto’s recent science exam. About an hour in, there was a knock at the café door.

“Happy birthday Naruto!!” shouted Ino and Chouji as they popped their heads in. Shikamaru trailed behind them, carrying a small gift bag.

“Are we interrupting?” Ino said in a suggestive tone, her eyes honing in immediately on the professor at Naruto’s side.

“Just trying to get Naruto to graduate,” Kakashi chirped. “I’m his tutor.”

“I hope he isn’t being too troublesome,” Shikamaru offered.

“Just troublesome enough.”

“Sorry we’ve been so busy with school and work, Naruto!” Chouji said on their behalf. “We wanted to say hi real quick though before we all went home.”

Shikamaru handed the bag to the birthday boy, who opened it immediately to pull out a plotted plant, a video game, and two instant noodle cups. Naruto grinned.

“Thanks, guys.”

There was some light chatting, but soon enough the Ino-Shika-Cho trio said their goodbyes, leaving it just Kakashi and Naruto again. It was quiet now, and pleasant for the most part, but Naruto could sense Kakashi-sensei had something on his mind.

Finally the professor spoke up. “You could have told me it was your birthday, Naruto. You could have taken the day off, spent it with your girlfriend.”

“ _Girlfriend_?” Naruto balked.

Dark eyes blinked. Then blinked again. “Not that pink-haired young lady? Haruno-san?”

Naruto made a face. “No way! I had a crush on her in middle school but then we got older and she got scary. Besides, I wanted to spend it here, with you, sensei!”

The blond said it with such ease that he hadn’t thought about it, but as soon as surprise and a faint pink blush crossed Kakashi’s face, he felt a vague confusion. Why would Kakashi-sensei react like that?

“I see. Well, I guess we should make the most of it then.” Kakashi clapped his hands together. Naruto was still confused, but he went with it, and they eased back into a comfortable dynamic. When it came time to go home, for the first time ever, Kakashi offered to wait until he closed up the shop and they could walk to Shinjuku station together and take the same train. Naruto lit up, delighted, and again that blush crept back up Kakashi’s face. The blond decided he liked the blushing. The walk was quiet and they didn’t talk the rest of the trip as Kakashi opted to read his book and Naruto put his headphones on. The train was empty since it was late, and they sat next to each other peacefully. When it came time for Kakashi to disembark, he tapped Naruto lightly. The boy pulled off his headphones.

“I’ll see you next week. Happy birthday, Naruto.” It seemed like it was awkward, uncomfortable even for Kakashi to say the words. But that didn’t stop the Uzumaki from grinning ear to ear.

“Thanks, sensei.”

With that, Kakashi gave him a two-fingered salute goodbye, and stepped out.

As he leaned against one of the poles in the train and watched Kakashi’s back as he disappeared into the crowd, his gift bag from his friends in hand, Naruto decided it had been one of his better birthdays in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading the first chapter of 'four seasons in tokyo,' my response to the Day 4 'modern' and Day 5 'high school' prompts for the KakaNaruKaka summer event :) I'm projecting this will probably be four or five chapters, to work with the theme of four seasons. Modern AUs are a bit challenging for me to write because I find it hard to hit the right character notes without their lived environment, but I hope our two heroes come through clearly enough in this. 
> 
> Also, I really miss Japan and Tokyo, so I hope that love I have for that city shine through in the work. 
> 
> See you next chapter and please let me know what you enjoyed in the comments!


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